Hollywood Week: Contentious SAG/AFTRA, WGA/AMPTP Week, Box Office, Early Oscar Buzz, Bob Barker
- Details
- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Saturday, 26 August 2023 12:46
- Written by Janet Walker
The Dog Days of August have arrived in Hollywood; temperatures are soaring, and tempers are flaring as striking SAG/AFTRA and WGA unions hold firm putting a pause on the entertainment industry and the AMPTP is dishing out dirty deeds.
After a week that appeared positive, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, (AMPTP), released the WGA counteroffer to the public, a move that had everyone crying foul and derailing negotiations.
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"The standstill comes after the AMPTP on Aug. 22 went public with its first counteroffer since the studios' initial response in May to the WGA's original proposal mere days after the strike began. The release of the proposal — which was dated Aug. 11 but sent out publicly this Tuesday — includes gains in residuals and protections against artificial intelligence, was slammed by the WGA as a ploy "not to bargain, but to jam us" with the counteroffer dubbed not "nearly enough,"' reported The Hollywood Reporter.
This move destroyed the "good will" that had been gained and the WGA strike, which is entering into its 18th week, shut down negotiations. The AMPTP tapped D.C. PR power player, Molly Levison of The Levinson Group to guide crisis communications as the strike drags on and SAG/AFTRA union has hired former deputy campaign manager for former President Barack Obama, Stephanie Cutter of Precision Strategies.
AI Not Protected Expression
At this time, AI generated work is not granted the same copyright protections under the law that work created by humans received, according to a recent decision by District Judge Beryl Howell said.
AI only advances a society of illiterates and has no business in creative industries. It allows individuals who have no command over the language of the source to gain entry to positions they are not qualified to hold. It reduces writers, creatives, and artists to non-existent positions. AI in creative or academic industries should be banned, and lifetime bans attached to its use. Refusing to create "room" for AI in scriptwriting also allows the Entertainment Industry to set the standard on the integration of technology into the arts.
The Hill Review – An Uplifting, Engaging, Inspirational, True Story
Summer Box Office
Professional auto racing flick Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story, blasted from the starting position and quickly outperformed the other two releases, the inspirational baseball film, The Hill starring Dennis Quaid and Colin Ford, and the Liam Neesom thriller Retribution.
Following Gran Turismo, in second place Warner Bros., pink beauty queen, Barbie, the Greta Gerwig helmed fantasy escape tale, which continues to deliver at current total of $1.294billion.
Blue Beetle, the newest DC Comics Superhero from Warner Bros., is at number 3, with Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, at number four, continuing to draw audiences both domestically and internationally, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at number five.
Sound of Freedom, the summer's sleeper hit begins it international roll out this week with an expected gross equal to it's surprising U.S. gross of $179 million. By year's end the Angel Studio production could potentially gross $400 million on an estimates 14.5 million production budget.
The summer box office has continued to outperform expectations, as post-pandemic audiences continue to make the determination of what is big screen worthy and what can wait for streaming.
Janet Walker, Screenwriter and Haute-Lifestyle.com Publisher, Featured in Wild Filmmaker Magazine
Early Oscar Buzz
Concern over a protracted SAG/AFTRA and WGA strike has cast a pall over the post summer box office as the pool of Academy Award contenders separates from the films released over the year.
The big fall premieres are also looking a bit slim as talent is holding firm and refusing, in solidarity, to participate in film promotion junkets including interviews, red carpet and festival attendance making for a rather dull fall roll out season.
However, there is still much anticipation over the upcoming releases and expectations for the upcoming awards season. Of course, Barbie, which has become the number 1 grossing film of the year, and continues to deliver both domestically and internationally, is expected to paint the city pink come Oscar time, which nods expected across the board.
Although as many of the Academy's voters prefer a more serious representation, as critical success and commerical appeal are not mutually inclusive, for the night's most prestigious categories such as the top six Best Picture, Best Director, and the actor and actress categories, some of the lesser known and lesser performing films may become the surprise film of the season and last year's overwhelming performance of Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, from A24, may have signaled a change in the voters direction.
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Bob Barker, Longtime Price is Right Host, Dies
Bob Barker, the longtime game show host, and animal rights advocate died at his home in the Hollywood Hills. He was 99.
Barker, "an unflappable television emcee who rode the airwaves into American living rooms for half a century, hosting holiday parades and beauty pageants, luring contestants into ludicrous stunts on the game show "Truth or Consequences" and presiding over the materialistic bacchanal of "The Price is Right," reported The Washington Post and entertained daytime audiences for more than half a century as well as ushering in the holiday season as the voice of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Rose Parade.
A lifelong animal rights advocate he lived his convictions and stopped dying his hair because of animal testing and always ended his program with the familiar phrase of "have your pets spayed or nurtured."
As a television host on the Price is Right beginning in 1972, he stepped down 35 years later in 2007 surpassing The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson's record for the longest running single hosted program.
Influenced by a World War II recruitment poster, Barker enlisted in the Navy and would earn his Fighter Pilot wings in 1945. The image of the tall, tanned fellow on the poster so influenced the young Barker that he continued to personify the image through his career.
His life was not without controversy and after his wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon of 37 years, passed away he dated a "Price is Right" model. This ended badly and he and the show were sued for sexual harassment. Barker list of accolades include a total of 19 Daytime Emmys, 14 as host, four as producer, and a lifetime achievement award.
